Megaupload Kim Dotcom search warrant invalid, rules judge

Megaupload co-founder Kim Dotcom has been handed a potential lifeline in his battle against charges of copyright infringement and racketeering.

A judge in his home country of New Zealand has ruled the search warrant police used to obtain evidence against the cloud storage operation was too "general" and therefore "invalid".

Court Judge Helen Winkelmann ruled that the warrants did not adequately describe the offences alleged by the US authorities, and declared that it was unlawful that data confiscated during the raids was sent offshore, The New Zealand Herald reports.